Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men

 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

- Matthew 4:18-25

Yesterday we read that when Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:  The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned."  From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  These first disciples, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and James and John Zebedee, had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and they were prepared to accept Christ immediately.  Although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, my study bible tells us, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  When Jesus had begun to preach repentance ("Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," a repetition of the words of the Baptist -- see the final verse in yesterday's reading, above), the crowds did not swarm Him.  It was only when He began to heal and work miracles (today's reading) that this phenomenon of immediate public interest and fame occurred.  My study bible says that this fact shows that the people misunderstand the true nature of the Kingdom.  It is also showing that Christ made concessions "to give credibility to what He teaches" (in the words of Theophan) among the fickle multitudes.

Jesus' fame quickly grows and spreads.  These first disciples respond to His call immediately.  As Jesus begins His public ministry, things happen quickly.  People do not respond so wildly to the call for repentance, but the manifestation of holy power is compelling.  And, of course, it is the fulfillment of traditional expectations of the Messiah, one who will heal and work miracles.  My study bible says that it shows that people misunderstand the true nature of the Kingdom.  What is that true nature?  In yesterday's reading, we considered this question, pondering on the notion that the Kingdom is present wherever Christ is.  Maybe there is a hint in the immediate response of these first disciples when they are called.  They are prepared for Him; it's understood that they have heard and known the preaching of John the Baptist and were most likely his disciples first (see John 1:35-42, in which the unnamed disciple is most likely John Zebedee himself).  But what is the call?  They are called to become fishers of men.  It's noteworthy that these men are not pre-qualified for this job, although they are prepared to respond to His call.  In the language of the Gospel, Jesus says, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."   The word used for "make" both here and in the same command found in Mark's Gospel is the Greek word ποιήσω/poieso, a verb akin to "create."  It gives us the root for the word "poem," a manifestation of what it is to create.  It is, in effect, an extension of His power as Creator.  It is His holy power that will "make" these men fishers of men.  It's not a simple call to take on a role or to fill a job.  It's rather a call to mission for which only Christ's holy power is capable of rendering them what they will become.  Hence, "follow Me" is more than a command.  It's a kind of qualifier.  By following Him, in faith and in keeping His word, we become something more than what we started out and can be on our own.  In John 14, in His final sermon to the disciples at the Last Supper, He makes this promise twice.  He first tells them, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:15-18).  And then promises again, in response to a question as to how this can happen, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me" (John 14:23-24).  Living in His word, keeping His commandments, loving Christ, means that both the Helper, the Holy Spirit, and the Father, will dwell forever with that person, creating ongoing discipleship, making of us what is necessary for that living Kingdom, which is clearly a synergy of holy power and human beings.  To live in His word -- true repentance -- is an ongoing process of being made into something, of this holy power to create at work in our lives.  As my study bible noted when these illiterate and unlearned men were called, they "will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all" because of this ongoing creative work of God within them.  Where one member of the Trinity is, as we noted in yesterday's reading, so are all three, as promised by Christ in John 14.  What we look to, then, is this transformational and creative reality, making us into something that we can't make of ourselves, fashioning us for  a purpose and for participation in something beyond ourselves and greater than we can know.  It is a creative power in which we are invited to participate, growing closer in this indwelling "home" where Father, Son, and Spirit may live forever with us.  It's an awesome thing to ponder, but one for which we simply need to accept what is, and allow ourselves to accept where He leads when we follow.   More powerfully than we can know, the work of God is, after all, to believe in Him whom He sent (John 6:29).